Baseball, that beloved game of summer, uniquely captures the imagination of its fans, especially when new blood steps onto the field. The Cincinnati Reds are no strangers to this phenomenon. Their supporters found much-needed excitement earlier this week as they witnessed the inauguration of a promising career. Enter Chase Burns, a rookie accustomed to headlines and high expectations.
This isn’t Burns’ first rodeo when it comes to generating buzz. A prodigy nurtured at Tennessee and Wake Forest, Burns soon decorated his college resumés with accolades, including the illustrious ACC Pitcher of the Year. Cincinnati Reds, keen to avoid letting this hot prospect slip through their fingers, drafted him second overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, making sure he donned their iconic red attire with a lucrative $9.25 million contract.
Burns was anything but idle post-contract. The lanky pitcher blitzed through the Reds’ minor league gauntlet in 2025, making pit stops that were more like brief cameo appearances with the Single-A Dayton Dragons, quickly moving through the ranks to Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts, and charmingly stealing the spotlight at Triple-A Louisville Bats. Each pitch he threw was a promise of what could be—a ticket to the big stage.
The debut, however, was not set on a quaint canvas but on a monumental backdrop: Burns took the mound for his climactic entrance against the New York Yankees, a team that demands attention no matter the season. There’s a certain gravitas attached to Yankees games, whether you root for them or against them; debuting against the Bronx Bombers comes with its own cache of pressure and prestige.
In a five-inning spell more befitting a seasoned major leaguer, Burns showed not just poise but panache, allowing three earned runs across six hits. His performance, beyond the ordinary box score, was punctuated by eight strikeouts—no mean feat. But the cherry on top was the absence of any walks, one of baseball’s ultimate tests of control and calmness amid chaos. When Reds’ reliever Connor Phillips clinched the win with a nail-biting 5-4 finale, Burns had already etched his name into the ongoing season’s story arc.
Remarkably, Burns began his major league chapter by striking out his first five batters, each one a well-heeled slugger, including the likes of Trent Grisham, Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, and Paul Goldschmidt. These are names that echo through the halls of baseball prowess. As if a small bump in his smooth run, Jazz Chisholm Jr. managed a single, briefly halting Burns’ meteoric start. Yet, with a snap back to form, he struck out Anthony Volpe, polishing the sizzle on an already scintillating debut.
Off the field, the tremors of his breakthrough were felt swiftly in the world of baseball card collecting—an arena where heroes and mythmakers alike are immortalized in cardboard. Burns’ rookie outing has, predictably, caused a ripple effect among collectors. Known for their guile and grind, card enthusiasts soon found them scrambling for every available piece featuring the young pitcher. Planting a tangible stake in the ground, the 2024 Bowman’s Best Top Prospects #TP-28 Chase Burns autograph card, traded at approximately $175, launched itself into the stratosphere of desirability. Not to be outdone, the glimmer of the 2024 Panini Kaboom Prospect Edition burst onto the scene, peacocking a significant selling price of about $300.
However, for those keeping a tight grip on their wallets, not all is lost. The 2025 Bowman Chrome #BCP-122 Chase Burns Reptilian Refractor remains an accessible gem, poised to appreciate, priced comfortably below six dollars—a steal, some might astutely argue.
Chase Burns’ ascent is one for the books. His debut walked the tightrope between high drama and well-paced anticipation. He has not only lit up the MLB radar but also wove himself into the intricate tapestry of fandom and collecting. Whether this was a first act in an illustrious career or a hard-to-follow opening, only time will reveal, bathed in the glories and challenges intrinsic to baseball life. Meanwhile, Reds fans exult, card collectors speculate, and a new star cautiously but exuberantly steps into the annals of the sport.
